The Princess and the Dungeon Bat
by alias093001
Summary: A detention with Severus Snape allows Bill and Charlie Weasley, and Nymphadora Tonks to become aware of a secret that the Potions Master has been keeping. A companion piece to Secrets of a Slytherin Princess.
1. Caught Out

**Caught Out**

Severus Snape glided through the darkened hallways of Hogwarts, lying in wait for some unsuspecting student of his to cross his path. He was just itching to hand out some detentions after the exhausting day he had. A group of second-years during a Double Potions class—Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs—caused a major explosion in the dungeon, canceling classes for the remainder of the day. He gave the pair who caused the explosion—Charlie Weasley and Nymphadora Tonks—a week's worth of detentions, but it still wasn't enough for his temper to subside. Severus was seething with rage over what had transpired; for his regular classroom would be unusable until the mess could be cleaned up, and the Potions Master was ready to hand a detention out to the next student to cross his path.

The Potions Master had far too much on his plate already to concern himself with having to clean the dungeon of the harmful substances that permeated his classroom and sitting through a week's work of detentions. He had no way of accomplishing everything. Classes had to be taught and then there was the matter of the five year-old girl currently meandering about the corridors. The girl, whom could not spend the week with a nanny as Severus requested, was relegated to stay at Hogwarts with him when he had classes to teach. Of course, leaving Albus to play baby-sitter to a precocious five year-old girl was a mistake in and of itself. He allowed the girl to have sweets at least twice before sending her back to Severus. It left the young five year-old very hyper and not wanting to go to sleep. _I won't be doing that again_, Severus thought as he walked like a shadow through the dimly lit corridors.

As he skulked through the dingy corridors, the Potions Master heard a voice. It was not one he recognized all too well, meaning it wasn't a fellow professor or one of the Slytherins. His Slytherins wouldn't dare disobey that order. During his first year of teaching, several fourth-years decided to test his authority. It was the first year after Slughorn retired and, because he was so young—only twenty-one—when Albus gave him the job, the students expected that Severus would not punish them in a way that some of the other Professors did. They learned their lesson however, when Severus had them scrubbing cauldrons by hand and collecting potions ingredients, balking at what a slave driver Severus was.

Whomever it was that was wandering the halls at this late hour would be subjected to an extra dose of detentions since his wrath would not wane until the pent up rage that surfaced after the explosion subsided. The voice grew stronger as Severus continued through the Charms corridor, the owner within about a hundred feet away. As he traversed the corridor, searching for the voice, Severus saw a faint yellow light flicker. Having found the source of the light in an unused classroom, Severus pulled the door open and swept into the room, using the overpowering darkness to his advantage. When the light flickered on and off, Severus caught a glimpse of the back of the student…and a mop of bright red hair. It could only be one of two people, as only they had hair of such a shade.

"Mr. Weasley," Severus said smoothly, wondering which one of the Weasley boys was out of bed at the moment. "What are you doing out of bed?" He kept his tone even, though all he wanted to do was yell at whichever one of the Weasleys this was. There was no reason for any student to be out of bed. _He'd better have an explanation for keeping me from going to check on my daughter and continuing on with my evening duties._

"Professor Snape?" he exclaimed in surprise.

Severus realized that it was the elder of the Weasley brothers—fourth-year Bill Weasley—whom was out of bed at this hour. Between the two of them, the Potions Master expected the misbehaving student to be the younger one; Charlie Weasley, not Bill Weasley. "Mr. Weasley, answer my question? Why are you out of bed?" he queried of the Gryffindor.

"I came to check on something," the fourth-year answered.

"At one o'clock in the morning?" Severus queried of the Gryffindor. There was no reason for Bill Weasley to be sneaking out of bed. Hogwarts had a curfew, done for a reason. It was in the students' best interests to have the curfew, yet they still broke curfew for the stupidest of reasons. Mr. Weasley's reason was sure to be as stupid as some of the other reasons he heard over the past four years. "Tell me, Mr. Weasley; what did you come to check on?"

"I…I…I…" the young Gryffindor stammered.

"Detention, Mr. Weasley!" Severus declared. "And twenty points from Gryffindor. Now get to bed." After all that he suffered at the hands of those blasted Marauders; Severus took glee in deducting points from the house of the lion. It would never fully make up for the seven years in which the Marauders tortured him. For a time, Lily helped him through the torment, but she was driven away by the temper that Severus inherited from his father. One impulsive mistake cost Severus his childhood friendship with Lily, and his only support system. The Gryffindors became unbearable by that point and Severus merely wanted reparations for all the suffering he incurred at the hands of those four meddlesome Gryffindors known as the Marauders. And, even though he and Lily reconciled, it wasn't enough to soften the blow. Gryffindors cost Severus the sanctuary he was looking for when he escaped his father and the Potions Master wanted them to pay. Bill Weasley was the latest of these victims and he certainly would not be the last; not if Severus had his way.

Bill Weasley solemnly trooped towards Gryffindor Tower, allowing Severus to finish his rounds for the evening. Fortune was on his side and Severus ran into no more students. He was allowed to finish his rounds of the castle in peace and returned to the dungeons. Settling into his quarters, Severus did some small paperwork before going in to check on his five year-old daughter, Apollonia. The girl was sleeping peaceably, her wavy black hair falling in her face. Merely looking at his young daughter allowed a sense of peace to wash over the normally cantankerous professor before Severus retired for the evening.

Severus settled down with a book and attempted to immerse himself in the potions journal, but found it impossible. His mind drifted to his daughter, the precocious little five year-old girl whom would need baby-sitting during the weekend. After all the times in which Albus had given the young girl sweets, Severus was not about to allow the Headmaster to do so again. Severus would have to find someone else—someone far more responsible—to baby-sit the young girl while he went off to run some errands. _Pomona? No; she would have a fit if Apollonia got too close to her plants. Filius? Not him either. If she were a bit older, I'd ask Hagrid. Of course, since she's not, I think Minerva might be my best choice. _The two Weasley boys and Miss Tonks flashed in his mind. _No, wait; I have an even better idea. _His ingenious idea would not only solve the baby-sitter dilemma, but it would also teach the errant students a lesson: not to mess with a Potions Master who already had a full schedule. All he needed yet was permission from Pomona and Minerva to use their students as guinea pigs for this newest punishment he had in mind.

* * *

When morning came, three tawny owls descended into the Great Hall, yellow envelopes clasped firmly within their beaks. One of the owls separated from the group and began descending upon the Hufflepuff table, barreling straight for a young girl with bubblegum pink hair. The two remaining owls made a beeline for the Gryffindor table, dropping their envelopes in front of two red-headed boys. All three letters bore the same carefully worded message.

_**Be in the dungeon immediately following breakfast Saturday morning. Your detention will begin then.**_

_**Professor Snape**_

Severus grinned at seeing his student open the letter explaining when their detentions were to begin. Come Saturday, Miss Tonks and the Weasley brothers would understand just how much of a mistake it was for them to mess with Severus Snape. Had they known about Apollonia—of which few even did to begin with—maybe this trio of students would have thought twice about making more work for the Potions Master. _This detention will be unlike any these students have ever seen_, he thought. _By the time Saturday comes to a close and I return from my errands, they will have learned not to mess with me. I won't stand for disobedient students, especially those self-righteous Gryffindors. _

_

* * *

_**Author's note: This story is a four-part companion piece to Secrets of a Slytherin Princess. It will play a role in future chapters of that story. **


	2. Baby Sitting Job

**Baby-Sitting Job  
**

For three Hogwarts students, nerves had become a major factor over the week. In the back of their minds, concern was not a fleeting emotion. They were worried about what their Saturday detention with Professor Snape might entail. When the letters about their detentions first came, any worries they might have had were an insignificant speck. But, as Saturday drew closer, their concern grew to an insurmountable amount. Potions class was definitely where their nerves were the worst as Professor Snape would sneer at them, just waiting for one of them to make a mistake so he could hand out even more detentions.

Bill Weasley was immensely worried about Saturday. He was in his fourth year here at Hogwarts and had yet to have a detention with Professor Snape. Somehow, after all those years of avoiding it, the oldest Weasley son slipped and got caught by the irritable Potions Master. Because of that, Bill had no idea what to expect on Saturday; what would he, Charlie, and Charlie's friend Dora Tonks have to do during this detention anyway? And, what kind of role model would he be for his five younger brothers and younger sister—especially stuffy little Percy who seemed to look up to Bill—if he got mountains of detentions?

Whereas his older brother seemed to worry about what was supposed to happen, Charlie Weasley seemed slightly at peace with the fact that he had a detention with Professor Snape come the weekend. Since first entering Hogwarts a little over a year ago, the second-oldest Weasley boy had a few detentions with the Potions Master in the past and knew what to expect; Professor Snape liked to have his students clean by hand or help the man prepare for upcoming classes. His only concern was that Dora Tonks would be there as well. The two became friends at the beginning of last year and Charlie knew all too well that the Hufflepuff was a bit clumsy when it came to her magic. Consequently, Charlie Weasley knew that it was quite possible for the trio to receive even more detentions from the tetchy Potions Master because of a mistake one of them—most likely Dora—made on Saturday.

Nymphadora Tonks was not looking forward to her Saturday detention with Professor Snape. Out of the entire teaching staff, the Potions Master was definitely her least favorite. He never really taught any of his students, merely asked that they follow the instruction written on the board. Aside from the fact that his teaching methods were not up to the Metamorphagus's satisfaction, Professor Snape seemed to like to lie in wait, hoping that one of his students would make a mistake so he could take points away. And, from what she heard from Charlie Weasley and some of his housemates, Professor Snape seemed to target Gryffindors especially, far more than the Slytherin Head of House typically should. The Hufflepuff had a bad feeling that a detention with two Gryffindors might cause a few problems.

Saturday morning came soon than they expected it would and, after eating a hearty breakfast, three students—two Gryffindors brothers and a Hufflepuff metamorphagus—trooped down to the deepest bowels of the castle where their detention was to take place. The Weasley brothers spoke amongst themselves about what was going to happen during their detention while Tonks—who had dark blue hair today so as to reflect her somber mood—remained silent as they went down to the dungeon. When the students arrived just outside Professor Snape's office to find that their strict Potions Master wasn't there, Charlie and Tonks slumped down against the wall as Bill began pacing.

"Bill, why are you pacing?" Charlie asked.

"I just have a weird feeling about all of this," Bill admitted as he continued pacing the dungeon halls. "Something is very wrong here and I'm not exactly sure what it is. Why would Professor Snape ever schedule a detention on Saturday morning? I could understand Saturday evening for a detention, but not Saturday morning; it makes no sense."

"Maybe he's just trying torture us," Tonks suggested.

The trio sat there waiting for Professor Snape to show up, wondering the whole while what the Hogwarts Potions Master was going at the moment that would keep him from coming out to explain the reason they had to come down to the dungeon for a detention this early in the morning.

* * *

Apollonia Snape looked up at her father with big green eyes, trying to understand what it was that he was telling her. His request made no sense, particularly after he spent the past few years drilling it into her that she was _never_ supposed to do such a thing. Misbehavior, in her father's eyes, was not to be tolerated; Apollonia learned that lesson at age three when she inadvertently wandered into her father's potions lab one night and knocked several bat wings into a potion that didn't call for it. The result of doing so was that Apollonia had dual-toned hair—green and black—for three days, followed by a case of blotchy skin that lasted a week. Her father refused to reverse the potion as punishment, which was in addition to her actually punishment of ten minutes in the corner. Since then, Apollonia never did something wrong again. So, why was he sitting here asking her to do exactly that? "Dad, are you sure that you want me to do this?" the five year-old asked her father.

The imposing man that was her father nodded. "I'm very sure, Apollonia. And, know this; it is the _one_ time I will ever permit you to do something like this. Should you ever do something like this after today, you will be punished according," her father declared.

"And I won't get punished?" she asked.

"Not for today," the Potions Master replied evenly.

If she was being perfectly honest, Apollonia was not quite sure that her father meant what he said, that she would walk away from this unscathed in regards to punishments. No matter what happened, she was sure to get punished for whatever she did. "Dad, tell me why this is going on. Why am I being allowed to misbehave for the day?" Maybe if she could understand what led to her father's request, she might be more willing to believe it.

"This is being done to teach three errant students why I cannot condone sneaking out of bed after curfew or not following instructions to such a degree that it causes an explosion." Apollonia flushed, recalling the incident two years ago; her dual-toned hair and blotchy skin. "Many of my other methods seem to be ineffective when it comes to disciplining my students. So, I will need your help with that, little one. Perhaps baby-sitting a misbehaving child—namely you in this case—will make these three students understand just how perturbed I get when I see when of my students behaving so abhorrently."

Apollonia nodded. "Okay, Dad."

"Good. Now, wait here," her father said, pointing to indicating her yellow and green bedroom. "I must go retrieve your wayward baby-sitters and inform them of their duties."

As her father disappeared, Apollonia picked up a book and started reading. She wondered how this day would turn out, what these three students did to deserve a detention with her father.

* * *

Now that his daughter was made aware of the role she was to play, it was time for Severus to gather up his daughter's baby-sitters and alert them as to the unique detention they were to be given. This detention was to be forever etched in their memories as the day they realized a certain truth about their cantankerous professor, the only students to ever do so. Of course, they would also have to remember that it was a punishment as well; he gave his daughter to misbehave as much as she wanted for the duration of this detention.

Severus was never one to condone misbehavior; even Apollonia knew that. His five year-old daughter had to question her father's motives regarding why he was asking her to go against every rule he ever made simply for today. She knew the rules all too well and she appeared slightly hesitant to disobey a direct order. _As she should_, Severus thought. _Now if only my students would learn such a lesson. I wouldn't have to use Apollonia as a punishment. _Unfortunately for him, only his daughter was able to grasp such a concept, forcing the irritable Potions Master to get creative in regards to how he went about handing out detentions. This was his only option at the moment; the only possible way for the Potions Master to ensure that no other student pulled something like this ever again.

The Potions Master emerged into the hallway where three errant students sat in wait. "Misters Weasley, Miss Tonks, please follow me. I will explain what I expect out of you once we go inside." Severus led his daughter's baby-sitters for the day into the room before turning to face them. "Since it appears as if I will forever be plagued with misbehaving students, I shall have to make an example of the three of you; I'm giving you three a special detention, which in turn will serve as an object lesson," the Potions Master explained.

"An object lesson for whom?" the older Weasley asked.

Before Severus could give out the instructions for their upcoming detention, Apollonia toddled out into the room. She focused her big emerald green eyes up at her father in a piercing glare before turning to the three students. "Who are you?" she asked the trio.

It was the younger Weasley who knelt down to Apollonia's eye level. "I'm Charlie Weasley." He pointed to his left where his older brother stood. "And, that's my older brother, Bill. The girl to my right is our friend is Dora Tonks. And, _who_ might you be?"

"Apollonia," she replied.

"And what are you doing down here in the dungeon?" he questioned. "In fact, what are you doing here at Hogwarts? Shouldn't you be at home with your parents? Hogwarts is no place for little kids. It's far too dangerous for someone of your age to be at Hogwarts."

"Careful what you say, Mr. Weasley, for that is my five year-old daughter you're talking to," Severus warned. "She knows perfectly well of the dangers posed by her staying in the castle."

"Sir, you have a daughter?" Charlie asked.

"I do indeed," Severus replied smoothly.

"But, you don't seem like the type of person who would have a daughter," Bill objected. "In fact professor, you don't really seem like the type of person who would have kids at all."

"And that means I wouldn't?" Severus inquired. "Just because I happen to be irritated by my students does not mean that I would not have children of my own. Now, if my personal life was any of your business, my daughter was born _before_ my teaching career began. Under _normal_ circumstances, Apollonia would be with a nanny during the week while _I_ return for the weekend. Only, her usual nanny somehow caught a case of Dragon Pox forcing me to bring Apollonia here to Hogwarts. You three will be baby-sitting my daughter for the day. And, I assure you that baby-sitting my daughter will not be an easy task."

"Sir, we have a five year-old brother. If we can handle him, I'm sure that we can handle watching your daughter," Bill replied. "Watching Apollonia can't be much different."

"When my daughter is known to be a bit of a troublemaker, it is sure to be very different," Severus warned. "Why just last week my daughter decided to wander into my lab and dumped several bat wings into a Pepper Up potion I was working on. For three days my daughter had dual-tone hair followed by a week's worth of blotchy skin. Unfortunately for you three, my daughter is quite a handful." Severus peered over at his daughter, wondering if she would go along with her father's little white lie. While Severus had no moral qualms about lying to his students—having lied on numerous occasions during his tenure as a spy—Apollonia might very well have a problem with what her father was doing. His obsidian gaze flickered to his daughter momentarily. Before he left, the Potions Master would have to have a talk with his daughter, to convince her to go along with the lie.

"We can handle it," Tonks declared.

"Sure you can," Severus muttered. "Apollonia, come here for a moment. I must discuss something with you before I go." His daughter came forward and he knelt down. "Go along with the story; make sure that these three have a miserable day and teach them a lesson in breaking the rules."

The girl nodded. "Okay, Dad."

"Good." Severus turned to his daughter's baby-sitters. "I shall be gone until early afternoon. Misters Weasley, Miss Tonks, I expect my daughter to be in one piece by the time I return."

"She will, sir," the trio declared.

Severus nodded and emerged from the room, snickering all the while. If Apollonia followed his instructions to the letter, the Weasley boys and Miss Tonks would be in for one very interesting morning. He strode across the grounds, arriving at the edge of the grounds, where apparition was possible. As the Potions Master apparated out to Diagon Alley, his mind flitted through all of the possible outcomes for him to return to. Apollonia was under direct orders to do whatever she could to make her baby-sitters miserable; and, _if _she followed his orders to the letter, they would be a wreck by the time Severus released them from their detention.

_

* * *

_**Author's note: Part two.**

**Leave a review.  
**


	3. Disappeared

**Disappeared  
**

Once her father had gone, Apollonia looked up at her three baby-sitters: the two red-headed brothers and the strange girl with bright blue hair. Her father's order was in the back out her mind. _"Make sure that these three have a miserable day and teach them a lesson in breaking the rules."_ Well, Apollonia would do exactly that. She would make sure that her father's wish came true. Plus, there was always the fact that Apollonia wanted to see just how far she could push before they cracked. The two red-headed boys—Bill and Charlie—assured her father that because they had a brother around her age that they could handle a morning of watching over her; Apollonia wanted to see just how long they would last.

The little girl peered up at her three baby-sitters who seemed to be talking amongst themselves about the baby-sitting job they had for the duration of their unique detention with her father. Apollonia could tell that they were not paying attention to their charge as they should have been. And, _that_ would be their downfall; they'd regret not doing as they were told. "This should be a piece of cake," Charlie was saying. "After several years of dealing with Fred and George, I'm sure that this will be no problem for us. Besides, what could a five year-old do that those seven year-old twin brothers of ours haven't done?"

Apollonia scoffed. Clearly they thought that they would have no trouble baby-sitting her, that this detention her father came up with was nothing more than a nuisance. Well, Apollonia would prove them wrong; she would make them understand just how much a mistake it was for them to underestimate her. At that moment, Apollonia began plotting her revenge on them, particularly Charlie who seemed to think that this detention was a joke. _Charlie Weasley will be in for a surprise_, Apollonia thought. _Hmm? I wonder if I can pull the Pepper Up incident on him. That would certainly be an interesting sight to see. And he'll be suffering the effects of the potion for a good ten days. _She laughed. _There is no way that I ever pass up the chance to do this, not when Dad basically gave me permission to do so. _

Her father was definitely going to regret giving her the chance to do whatever she pleased for the duration of this detention. Didn't he understand that Apollonia would try to push the limit of his understanding in regards to what she was allowed to do? Since he gave the order, it appeared as if he didn't, so the young Snape would use that to her advantage. While her baby-sitters were busy talking amongst themselves—not paying attention to her as they should—Apollonia slipped off to her father's lab to prepare her revenge. _Dad, you're a genius. You warned them of what I did and still they did not listen. _

* * *

Tonks seemed almost wary of what was going to happen. Charlie was indirectly bashing Professor Snape's daughter and it would be a mistake. Because it was Professor Snape's daughter—compared to anyone else's—there was a chance that Apollonia might try something. Young Apollonia Snape could probably be as vindictive as her father. Tonks turned to her friend. "Charlie, are you sure you want to be bashing Professor Snape's daughter?" Tonks asked him. "After all, you may be wrong. She might very well turn out to be a handful, even more so than your brothers. I don't think that we should be underestimating her; not the daughter of a Slytherin." She peered around the room, unable to find the five year-old. "Bill, Charlie, where is Apollonia anyway?" she inquired.

"You mean she isn't here?" Charlie asked.

"No," Tonks replied.

"Oh, yes; nice one, Charlie," Bill scolded. "That was real smart. What if this was Ron, Ginny, or the twins? What would Mum do if it was discovered that we lost track of one of them?"

The younger Weasley rolled his eyes and looked up at his brother. "We'd be de-gnoming the garden until graduation," Charlie mumbled. "And grounded until the end of the century."

"Now triple what Mum would do to us and that's the punishment Professor Snape will give us if he discovers that we lost track of his daughter almost immediately after he left," Bill warned. Tonks noted the odd look that crossed the elder Weasley's face as he began thinking this over, trying to figure out what was going on. "Where could a five year-old have disappeared to? How far could a five year-old have gotten in about five minutes?"

"She could be anywhere!" Charlie realized.

"And this is why we should have been watching her," Tonks replied. "We have no idea where Apollonia could be because _you _had to start complaining. So thanks, Charlie; thanks for giving us even more trouble. Now, come on; we have to go find her. Like you said, she could be anywhere, getting into anything. Professor Snape will have our hides if he ever learns what happened." She led the boys out of the room. "Okay, now where could she have gone?"

Bill shrugged. "It can't be far. She's five."

"Could she have gotten outside?" Charlie queried.

"If she did, you better go find her," Bill warned.

As Charlie disappeared to search the grounds for any sign of the young five year-old, Bill Weasley and Dora Tonks made arrangements to search the castle. "I'll search the lower floors and the dungeon," Tonks stated. "You know more of the castle, so you can search the upper levels."

"This had better work," Bill muttered, "else I'll skin Charlie."

"You won't be the only one," Tonks replied.

* * *

As she searched through her father's stock, Apollonia could hear no noise coming from the other room. She peered out into the other room and found that her baby-sitters had disappeared. "Perfect," Apollonia muttered when she realized that they left the room "Now I can work in complete silence, without interruption." The five year-old returned to what she was doing, searching for the bat wings that would spell doom for Charlie Weasley.

* * *

Bill Weasley was searching the towers for any sign of Apollonia Snape. The chances of her being up there were slim, but he had to try. And, the worst part was that he, Charlie, and Dora were the only students aware of the five year-old's existence, so he had no way of knowing where the five year-old might have run off to. _Where could she be? _the elder Weasley thought. It hadn't been all that long since Apollonia disappeared. So, how was it that Professor's Snape's daughter could have disappeared so quickly? Under what circumstances was Apollonia Snape capable of disappearing right under her baby-sitters' noses?

As he was searching for any sign of the girl, Bill came across one of his housemates. It was a friend of his, one of the few people he told of the detention with Professor Snape. "Hey, Bill, already done with your detention? For a Snape detention, that was pretty fast."

Since there was no way for Bill to explain the true nature of his detention without revealing the Potions Master's daughter, the eldest Weasley found himself incapable of providing an answer. "It's a bit more complicated than that, my friend. Apparently, my brother caused a bit of a problem and is forcing me to come out here. My detention isn't ending until early afternoon."

"Oh, that's too bad," his friend stated.

"Yeah," Bill grumbled, thinking of Apollonia and her disappearing act. Watching over Professor Snape's daughter was definitely different than watching over the twins, Ron, or Ginny; Apollonia seemed to have inherited her father's cunning. She found a way to sneak away from the trio of students that her father roped into baby-sitting her. Now it forced the Weasley boys and Dora Tonks to scour the school for any sign of the precocious little girl. "Sorry, but I've really got to get going. I have a bit of a deadline here."

Once he was able to get away from his friend, Bill returned to his search. Finding Apollonia was far more important than chatting it up with one of his housemates. This was a Professor's daughter—the Slytherin Head of House's five year-old little girl—and if it was ever discovered that any of this occurred, Professor Snape would gleefully hand out even more detentions. Unfortunately, the fact that Apollonia disappeared gave Professor Snape ample reason to do so; Bill couldn't afford to let that happen. Snape would have an even worse punishment lying in wait if he learned of the disappearing act Apollonia pulled.

* * *

Searching the grounds seemed a rather futile effort, Charlie soon realized. It was still warm out these days, meaning a lot of the students would probably be sitting outside on this Saturday morning. Out in the courtyard; by the lake; on the Quidditch Pitch; no matter where he went, Charlie found that his fellow classmates were around. Apollonia was a five year-old girl whom very few people seemed to know about. For those who knew nothing about Apollonia Snape's existence, they would wonder why a five year-old girl was wandering about the school. There was no way that Apollonia would ever dare venturing out to the Hogwarts grounds without revealing herself to the entire school. It wouldn't happen.

For awhile, Charlie wandered the grounds, not really wanting to go back in. He knew that this was all his fault; Charlie was the one to start making comments about what was going on. But, he was not really willing to sit through any lectures that Tonks or his brother decided to give. Charlie understood that he was to blame; he felt no need to have Tonks or Bill lecture him about what he caused. The Gryffindor stood at the base of the Black Lake, staring out at the cool, clear water. He lost track of exactly how long he was out there, at least until the giant squid slapped over the lake, causing a humungous wave to come crashing down on Charlie and some of the other students who were sitting at the lake.

Charlie left the lake sopping wet; his clothes were drenched as he walked up to the castle. _Drat! I don't have my wand_, he realized. There was such a thing as a Drying Charm, only he couldn't cast it without his wand. So, he trudged through the school, dripping the water through the halls. _Filch is going to kill me. _Argus Filch was almost as mean-spirited as Professor Snape, sometimes even more. He would not take too kindly to the fact that Charlie was dripping water all over the castle. "I shouldn't have gotten that close to the lake."

"No kidding," a voice called.

The younger Weasley looked up from his feet to see that Tonks was just in front of him. "Still no sign of her?" Charlie asked. Tonks shook her head; the answer a resounding no. "Damn it!" Charlie gave Tonks a pointed glare. "Don't say it, Dora. I _know_!"

"Well, you still shouldn't have done it," Tonks scolded. "We might not be in this if not for your callous remarks. Remember that, Charlie, for when Professor Snape decides to murder us." She looked up and down at him. "Now, why are you sopping wet?"

"Giant squid," Charlie noted, as if that explained it all.

"No drying spell?" Tonks asked.

"No wand," he admitted.

"Idiot," Tonks muttered, pulling her wand out from her pocket and casting the drying charm on her friend. "So, no sign of our charge outside on the grounds then?" Charlie shook his head. "If Snape ever finds out, you're taking the blame for happened. Got that, Charlie?"

"Yeah, I've got it," Charlie grumbled. They parted ways and Charlie headed off to the Great Hall to check for the five year-old little girl. Maybe Apollonia was hiding under one of the tables. Charlie hoped that they'd find the girl fast; otherwise, he was in major trouble.

* * *

Finding the Pepper Up potion was easy; Apollonia found it in a cabinet, a cabinet that seemed to be organized alphabetically. The bat wings, however, was a different story. After the incident when she was three, the bat wings were hidden away so she would never do something like that ever again, not like Apollonia would have. But, today was different; today she needed to teach Charlie Weasley a lesson. So, Apollonia searched for where her father might have hidden the bat wings, wanting locate these so that she could give the concoction to the younger Weasley brother. An idea was in place; all she had to do was find what she needed. "Where are they?" the five year-old muttered. "Where could they be?"

* * *

Upon parting ways with Charlie, Tonks slipped down to the dungeon. Maybe she was still down there. She, Bill, and Charlie had looked everywhere except the dungeon. After not being able to locate Apollonia anywhere in the castle, the dungeon was the only place left unturned. Tonks trooped back down to the dungeon. Tonks could see very little when she went down to the dungeon thanks to the dank, dimly-lit corridors. For whatever reason, Dora found that there were no signs that a five year-old girl was there. It was almost as if Apollonia had not stepped foot into the corridors. _She never left_, Tonks realized. _She's still somewhere within her father's quarters. _It seemed as if Tonks and the Weasley boys just wasted half an hour of their detention searching for a girl that wasn't really missing.

The young metamorphagus carefully slipped back into the Potions Master's private quarters and began turning the place upside-down. If Apollonia was nowhere else, she was hiding somewhere within her father's quarters. Her room was empty along with her father's study and the living quarters. "Damn it! Where is she?" the Hufflepuff grumbled.

"Where is who?" a small voice asked.

Looking up, Tonks found that a small girl with black hair had appeared, two vials in hand. "Apollonia," Tonks scolded. "You can't disappear like that without telling anyone. We were worried."

"Sorry. I needed something," the girl replied.

"You could have said something," Tonks reminded.

"I did not want anyone to know," Apollonia admitted. "I had to do something without the three of you learning what I did." She indicated the two vials she held in her tiny left hand.

"Well, stay here," Tonks informed the girl. "I need to go inform the Weasleys that I was able to find you. It's pointless to continue any search. I'll be back." The second-year Hufflepuff emerged from the Potions Master's quarter and went to find the Weasley boys. Apollonia was safe inside her father's quarters; she wouldn't be wandering anywhere around the school. That was definitely a relief. _I'm sure Charlie will be happy to know that Apollonia is okay. He was beating himself up over the fact that she disappeared. _

* * *

A good twenty minutes elapsed before Apollonia Snape was met with the sight of her three baby-sitters. She glanced over at the table where the Pepper Up potion and bat wings were sitting. All she had to do was convince Charlie to add the bat wings into the potion and it would blow up in his face…literally. _I have to lie then; it's my only chance. _Charlie sneezed. _Perfect_, the girl thought. _He's coming down with a cold. I can use that to my advantage. _

"Bless you," Tonks said quickly.

"You have a cold," Bill grumbled. "Well, see this is what you get for starting this in the first place. If not for you, we would have had to waste all that time searching for a little girl who didn't seem to be missing at all. I hope you remember that, little brother; it is _your_ fault."

Charlie grunted. "I'll store that away for future reference."

It was at this point that Apollonia hopped from her seat, determined to see her plan through. She grabbed the two vials and handed them to Charlie. "Daddy had this lying around. I think it will help. Just dump the smaller vial into the large one; it should make it more potent."

The Weasley willing took the vials from the little girl. "Thank you, Apollonia. I appreciate you help me, even after I said certain things." He shot a pointed glare at Tonks and his brother before turning back to the vials. Apollonia had a somewhat evil grin on her face as Charlie dumped the bat wings into the Pepper Up potion, setting off a rather loud explosion. Apollonia giggled as Charlie began freaking out. _Mission accomplished_, the girl thought. _Charlie is going to be in for ten days of absolute hell. It will not end well._

_

* * *

_**Author's note: Part three.**

**Leave a review.  
**


	4. Potion Effects

**Potion Effects  
**

The fumes from her little prank only cleared five minutes later. Apollonia was the only one to chuckle at the dual-tone hair—red and purple—Charlie Weasley now sported; Bill and Tonks didn't seem to find it all that funny. Charlie, however, had no clue at to what had happened. And, Apollonia was thankful for that. Otherwise, Charlie might eventually come after her for what she did. Though the joke was funny—and well-deserved—Charlie wouldn't take too kindly to the fact that Apollonia pulled the stunt her father told them about. The young five year-old disappeared for a moment, going to grab a mirror before proffering the reflective surface to Charlie. "You need to see something," she suggested.

Charlie took the proffered mirror and screamed at his reflection like a little girl; the mirror dropped from his hand, Bill catching it before it shattered. "What?" he asked. "What happened to my hair?"

Apollonia grinned. "Payback." Charlie eyed her curiously. "I heard what you were saying. It's why I snuck away. Remember what my father said. _Dual-tone hair and blotchy skin_. Or weren't you paying attention? Anyway, that's what I was doing. I was making certain that, for the next ten days, you'll be stuck with the effects of my potion. It should be three days of your hair looking like that, followed by a week's worth of blotchy skin. Next time, be careful of what you say. I can be quite…what's the word…um, vindictive when I want to be. I hope you remember that for my dungeon bat of a father can sometimes be the same way, and you do _not_ want a Snape to have a grudge against you."

"Dungeon bat?" Tonks asked.

Apollonia covered her mouth. _That was not supposed to come out. _But, it did and the young girl would have to suffer the consequences, at least when the name came to her father's attention. There was another name that Apollonia could have told them, but _that_ would get her in even more trouble than the one she just let slip. "Uh, pretend you didn't hear that."

"Nope, I definitely heard it," Charlie murmured.

"Well, don't ever repeat it," she insisted. If it got back to her father that Apollonia had provided the Weasley boys and Tonks with a new nickname for him, the five year-old would be in major trouble for what she did. "I can't have this getting back to my father."

"But, it's too funny," Bill told her.

"Yes, and I hope you know that my father would murder you three _and_ mefor starting the name," Apollonia reminded them. "Vindictive, remember? He can hold a grudge for a long time. I heard him saying once that he's held a grudge since his own days at Hogwarts, one that's still going on. Should _Dungeon Bat_ ever circulate round the school, my father _will_ target you."

"It would be worth it," Charlie noted.

At what was said, Apollonia shrugged. Despite her young age—and very brief meeting with the trio—Apollonia could see that they had no intention of listening to what she said; she was five and had little experience in the world. What would she know about it? _Dungeon Bat _would become a regular occurrence around Hogwarts. _Too bad I won't be around to find out the result. _Once her regular nanny recovered from her bout of Dragon Pox, Apollonia would return back there, only seeing her father on the weekends and during the summer. She would never anything more about what was going on and the creation of _Dungeon Bat_ would be but a distant memory. But, still; she was the one to start it, a fact that might one day come back to bite her in the butt. _I hope it doesn't though._

* * *

Severus emerged from the apothecary with a package of potions ingredients. For whatever reason, the owner refused to send these through owl posts—as would be the norm—thus forcing to the irate Potions Master to come collect the ingredient himself. It would have taken only a few minutes had the Potions Master not gotten into a very nasty spat with the establishment owner over pulling the professor away from his daughter and threatened to take his business elsewhere if this continued. The Potions Master would have to wait and see about the future of purchases; the apothecary refused to give a response.

The Potions Master made one final stop, grabbing a bite to eat before apparating back to Hogsmeade and heading up to the school. It was shortly after one o'clock, about time to relieve his wayward students of their baby-sitting duties. He wondered exactly how much trouble his daughter caused for the trio of miscreants he charged with her well-being. When Severus arrived at his quarters, he stood just outside for a few moments and heard people arguing. The students were so loud that the Potions Master could hear every word that they were saying._ "Charlie, it's not going to happen. You've spent hours and hours trying to fix this. You heard her. There's no way for you to fix this," _the Hufflepuff girl stated.

_"It has to," _Charlie complained.

Severus took the opportunity to enter at that moment, only to find that the younger Weasley had dual-tone hair, colored red and purple. "Mr. Weasley, I believe I warned you about my daughter's proclivity for doing this. It seems you chose not to listen."

"I didn't think…"

"That's right; you _didn't_ think," Severus declared. "And, in the same way my daughter had to live with the potion's effects, so will you have to, Mr. Weasley. Part of your punishment is to walk around school, suffering the effects of my daughter's potion. I will also inform Madam Pomfrey not to give you anything for it." Charlie groaned. "This is what you get for causing such an enormous explosion in the Potions lab earlier this week."

"But, sir," Charlie objected.

His older brother elbowed him. "Don't get yourself in even more trouble, Charlie. It's not worth it. Isn't the fact that Apollonia gave you red and purple hair enough of a punishment?"

"And _that_ brings me to the next thing of the agenda," Severus said. "No one can ever know of my daughter's existence. You three were only informed because I needed someone to watch over her; otherwise, you might never have known about Apollonia, possibly ever. Should I hear one word of my daughter after today, I will douse all three of you with a _permanent _dose of my daughter's potion." He turned to the Hufflepuff. "And, _that_ includes you Ms. Tonks. You might be able to change your appearance, but I will find a way to block that and allow the potion to work on you. So, keep your mouth shut about my daughter."

The trio nodded. "Yes, sir."

"You three can leave now," Severus stated. "I hope my daughter was able to teach you a lesson in behaving. Otherwise, you might be subjected to my daughter's brand of punishment even further."

As her baby-sitters for the day were leaving, Apollonia tugged on her father's sleeve. "Dad, did I do well?" the five year-old asked her father. "Not only did I use that potion of mine to change Charlie's hair color and give him blotchy skin, but, while I was looking for everything I needed, they thought I disappeared and spent an hour an a half searching for me. I used it as a method of punishment, to make them see how you feel when they do stupid things"

"Let's hope it works," her father stated.

"Bloody Dungeon Bat," the Potions Master soon heard the younger Weasley grumble as he, his brother, and Tonks slipped out of the Potions Master's quarter. "Does the greasy git really think that he can try threatening us with punishments enforced by his daughter…"

Severus's harsh features twisted into a scowl. It seemed as if Charlie didn't believe that Apollonia could hand out punishments, or that Severus would enforce them. Well, he would soon see; Severus would make absolutely certain that Apollonia's punishment would stick. Charlie Weasley would soon learn that he was not to underestimate a five year-old girl. It would turn out to be the worst mistake of his life. And, what was with the nicknames? _Dungeon Bat_ and _Greasy Git_. Since coming to teach at Hogwarts, Severus was able to keep the students from disrespecting him. Somehow, it must have slipped because the two names cropped up. _It had better be a one time thing_. He turned to his daughter. "Did I just hear the words _Dungeon Bat _and_ Greasy Git_?" he asked her.

The girl shrugged. "Don't know, Dad."

* * *

Come Monday morning, the names _Dungeon Bat _and _Greasy Git_ had spread around the school. The Potions Master was not amused. But, Bill and Charlie Weasley and Nymphadora Tonks were ecstatic; their little baby-sitting adventure, though it started out as a detention—including a prank causing Charlie to hear a few taunts for the purple in his hair—turned into something good. It was the start of something wonderful, something people would laugh about for years. And, it was all thanks to a little girl by the name of Apollonia Snape.

_

* * *

_**Author's note: And here's the final part.**

**Leave a review.  
**


End file.
